HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) — September is National Emergency Preparedness Month. As part of that, the Hutto Independent School District is showing off some of its technology used to keep staff and students safe.
“If there was a lockdown, they would just push this button down repeatedly until it vibrates, the beacons will turn red, the intercom system will kick in and [teacher’s] screens would tell them exactly what they need to do,” explained Chris Contreras, the Emergency Operations and Campus Safety Coordinator for Hutto ISD.
He showed off the badge that every staff member wears at all times that keeps that constantly connected and able to be tracked in real-time. It’s one of many security and safety enhancements happening at schools across the district.
“The state implemented that starting the beginning of this school year that every staff member had to have a way to push a silent panic button,” he said.
The high-tech solution works in tandem with what’s known as the “Standard Safety Protocol.” It was developed by the I Love U Guys Foundation, which was created by parents after their daughter was killed in a school shooting.
That protocol uses four different parameters — lockdown, lockout, evacuate and shelter. Staff is trained on what to do in each scenario.
“The state the last couple of years has really been pushing for emergency management, from schools to cities, so we work together, hand-in-hand,” Contreras said. “We discuss things that are going on in the city and the county and we just make sure everybody is on the same page.”
The district hopes that type of planning will extend to a student’s home.
“We tell everybody we hate to have this conversation, but we have to have this conversation,” Contreras said. “These things are not just happening in schools, they’re happening in grocery stores and malls. So these students are aware if they see something, if they hear the word ‘lockdown’ they know what to do.”
It’s another way to help keep students and staff safe before, during and after the school day.
Leander ISD also uses the same type of technology, as well as other districts in the area. Hutto ISD said it was planning to send material home for parents to encourage a dialogue at home about what to do during an emergency.
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